Frequently asked questions

In accordance with the federal Food Safety Modernization Act, we cannot allow dogs or other pets on the farm. This policy includes emotional support animals. You will be asked to leave your dog in the car or take it off-premises. We do not have any dog-friendly areas on the property.

Yes you can, but you must contact us via our Groups Page. To preserve the safety of all of our guests, we reserve the right to reject admission to large parties who have not coordinated with us prior to arrival. We do not host group trips or accept busses or passenger vans on weekends.

Thanks for asking! We ask that you make your purchases and head to your car. Picnicking is not allowed in the orchard, which is a food production area. We don't have the space to allow picnicking by our sales room or in the parking lot. Provence at the Orchard has some delicious treats to take with you on your way, though. Check them out and we bet you'll be back for more. There are several beautiful parks in Chester where you can picnic before or after visiting the farm. Some of our favorites are Hacklebarney State Park, Grove Street Park and Chubb Park. Grab some donuts and cider and keep your outside day going at the park!

Yes, we have portable bathrooms available (some of which are handicapped accessible), as well as hand sanitizer stations and a hand wash station by the retail store.

Yes, everyone needs to pay admission. Photographers will pay a site fee, see our photography page. For safety and security reasons, large parties (wedding parties, other large groups) must contact us via our groups page prior to arrival.

No drones are allowed on the property.

For safety reasons, we cannot allow customers to bring these items. During certain times of the season, we may have picking poles available.

Yes! We encourage you to minimize waste and re-use bags. We will have heavy-duty reusable picking bags for purchase at admission, and handled paper bags to use, if you don’t remember to bring your own.

Yes, you may.

Please do not bring balls, frisbees, and the like. You’ll be asked to leave these items in your car. Also, do not throw apples or any items found on the farm.

Respecting all that is nature, our orchards are wheelchair accessible in dry conditions. Please note that some areas of the farm are located on hills, and terrain may not always be even.

We close off areas of the orchard to prevent people from picking apples that aren’t ripe yet. While these apples may look ready, each variety has its own ripening time and we’re constantly taste testing them to make sure that we only open them for picking when they’re 100% ready!

We recommend heavy-duty kitchen shears or pruning clippers (and closed-toe shoes in the pumpkin patch).

Yes. “Pick all you want, buy all you pick.” Accompanying adults are responsible for what children pick. Please only touch what you will be picking & paying for.

We accept cash and credit cards of all types. We also accept SNAP/EBT, and Senior and WIC FMNP benefits.

Yes! When conditions and weather permit, we run farm wagon rides on weekends and holidays, which are included in your orchard admission. Please be patient as you wait to board and follow our staff’s instructions. Plan your trip appropriately, and also feel free to follow the signs and walk to where we're picking today.

It depends. It's about 1/3 of a mile from our orchard entrance to the furthest point in our back orchard. Everything else is closer, and depending on the time of the season, our Red and Golden Delicious are only 30 feet from the orchard gate.

The daily price of a farm pass varies depending on whether it’s a weekend or weekday, and produce availability. Please visit our ticketing page for daily admission rates.

We are not an organic farm. We are Eco-Certified by the IPM Institute of America. We have found that the most sustainable growing approach is to utilize the growing principles of integrated pest management (IPM). We work closely with Rutgers’ Agricultural Extension Service in the implementation of this approach. IPM allows us to use cultural, biological, and sometimes chemical means to control pests and diseases. Since we are in the northeast where the weather is quite unpredictable, and the frequent rainfall lends itself to disease and pest proliferation, having this flexibility is crucial for us to ensure that we grow marketable produce. It is a common misconception among Americans that “organic” means “chemical free”. This is simply not the case. The only difference is that organic pesticides are organically, not synthetically, derived. We use both organic and synthetic options at our farm. Giving ourselves this wide range of options allows us to spray small amounts of product as infrequently as possible. The IPM approach allows us to grow our produce in the safest, most efficient, and most sustainable way possible.

Every animal is vaccinated yearly by a licensed veterinarian. All animals have veterinary inspections done every 2 weeks at Barnes Yard Petting Zoo LLC before traveling to public events. All animals travel with necessary veterinary inspection health charts that void after 30 days.To avoid over handling of our animals, Barnes Yard Petting Zoo rotates the work load each animal takes on and they are sure to give ample time off. This keeps the animals happy to engage and at their healthiest.All the animals are also compliant with necessary USDA scrapes identification (ear tags or microchip).We understand there is a significant level of exposure and very valid reason for concern due to a case of rabies in North Carolina. As a former Large Animal Veterinary technician, Marie Barnes - owner of Barnes Yard Petting Zoo - has fully prepared her animals to ensure the safest abilities of public animal encounters.Barnes Yard Petting Zoo is USDA compliant, PA and NJ health department compliant and Department of Agriculture compliant.If you have any further questions, please contact the animal's owner directly.Marie BarnesBarnes Yard Petting Zoo LLC570 269 3361